News Letter from Warrnambool,Victoria, Australia

I am now in Warrnambool, Victoria, a beautiful little fishing villiage which nestles in a rocky cove along the shore of the Great Shipwreck Coast. It is an Irish settlement that has changed little with time and the people look as though they have just stepped off the boat. Freckles, red cheeks and red hair are the norm. The country side homes are small stone crofts or lovely white cottages with slate roofs.

On April 11th. Ernest and I stayed with Annie and Peter Riseborough in Melbourne. Ernest was tired from his trip over but managed to revive in time for a great meal with Annie's sister Lizzie. (She has the most incredible garden.) The next day Peter took us to see a great view of Melbourne from a park near Kew.

Then it was off to the train station to drop off our luggage and rush over to show Ernest the new Federation Square. We managed to see the new Art Gallery and some of the early Australian art by such artists as Aurthur Streeton and Tom Roberts. It is always an adventure to see paintings you have only viewed in books. Sometimes the size or the colours can be quite a surprise.
The train trip to Geelong went by quickly and our dear friends Neil and Phyl Drew were there to meet us. The hours fairly flew by with lots of laughter and one of Phyl's marvelous dinners to top it all off. It was wonderful for Ernest as he has not seen them in two years.

The next day we were off again for the rest of our trip to Warrnambool..It was quite a shock when we got to the train station and were transferred to a bus....everyone is supposed to know that the train does not run from Geelong to Warrnambool on Sunday!!

It was wonderful to get to our friend Di Pettigrew's cottage...which holds many memories for us. Di and I go way back and she stood up for us along with Ruth Stonely and Gloria McKInnon when we got married. We were met by Toby ( Di's son) who lives in the back when he is not surfing, swimming or biking...oh yes he does work as a physio therapist too.

We had two days of quiet and then it was off to meet Judith and Stuart Coombe in Robe South Australia. We rented a car and started off early but as usual the drive took twice as long because I am always stopping for photos! Ernest cannot complain because he refuses to drive over here...He says it is because he is afraid of the round abouts but I think it is because he just wants to sit back and enjoy the scenery.
Robe is a marvelous little fishing villiage which claims to be the lobster capitol of Australia.

It is home to 600 people and features beautiful victorian cottages. We stayed in the Robe Hotel and it looks over the road onto the beach...what a sight and sound...We had the most wonderful two days there....so much laughter, good food, walks on the beach, drives along the rugged coast and more laughter.

I took several roles of film,the cottage are so beautiful and the coast line has a rugged beauty to it that is almost frightening. The number of ship wrecks along this coast is amazing and the fishing a whaling history makes for lots of folk lore.

One day the four of us drove to Beachport which is an old whaling port and walked along the half mile pier...as it was a cold and windy day the waves were pretty high. My friend Judith Coombe is one half of the famous Judith and Kathryn team.

If you have not heard of them please check out their website at www.judithandkathryn.com They are famous for their beautiful Victorian art prints and beautiful dyed laces. They are also the authors of several successful books. I love their products and use them often in my work.

On Thursday we had to say goodby to Stuart and Judith with the promise tomeet again next year in Robe. Once again it took twice as long to drive back to Warrnambool because of the sunny, warm day and the breathtaking scenery. We managed to get home just in time to welcome Di to her house...Her work takes her away for months at a time and she came home to see us and to enjoy the Easter long weekend. So once again it was laughter, good food and lots of stories. I will stop now and fill you in later on the next leg of our trip. We have two more days in Warrnambool before we catch the train back to Melbourne in time to go to John Hose's birthday party!!!

Happy Easter to every one and I wish you peace...Love Judith, Jude, Mum

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